Spring suspension for trailers



Nov. 25, 1941. C; o, CRUMP ETAL 2,264,174

SPRING SUSPENSION FOR TRAILERS NOV. 25, 1941. Q 0, CRUMP ETAL 2,264,174

SPRING SUSPENSION FOR TRAILERS Filed Dec. 15, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w n f 5 I m V@ Bm l a y I 0 l @og l a N 4 l a w N a .m g f s l n x N. 1 v

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y :o 1 A* 9D N @MM Nov. 25', 1941. c. o. CRUMP ET AL 2,264,174

SPRING SUSPENSION FOR TRAILERS Filed Dec. 15, i959 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 TIL.

\ l|||| I I l |1 l 1-51-1. \n\\ n n n Q n i l l v u n n Ff L ,l l f f /f/ f/ u ///l f 1L /IL lllllll lllllll IIL .mi lr llll x ||L| l l l l l Il A N Patented Nov. 25, 1941 SPRING 'SUSPENSION FOR` TRAILERS charles o.' Crump, Bristol; ya., ana'r'ramkA A. Jones, Bristol, Tenn., assignors to Harry M.

Daniel, Bristol, Va.

application. December 15, 1.939. serial. No. 309,500

5' claims, (c1. zoo-124) f invention relates: tofv novel spring' suspension means: interposed between the chassis: and theaxle ot large trailer truck uni-ts analogous assemblies and comprehends the use of a speciicA type of spring combined with` a'vdenite radius'rod arrangement, whereby the rear axle alignment is mail-1tained.v regardless of the amount ofv load. or the application of. the load to thetrailer.

One of thevmai-n objects of thepresent invention is to so arrange the centervpoints: of rotation of the radius rod withrespect to the center 4line of the axle that` alignment is maintained without regard `to the amount of vdeiection in the spring assembly l l Another objectoi the inventlon is to.- suspend the vspring shackle vfrom the eye. of -thel spring andtovconnectthelawer pivot,V shackle below the springl eye thus permitting a greater degree oi stability. I l

Al still. further object of the inventio-nis the provision of asp-ring Vsuspension and-'mounting means vtherefor in such a. manner' that these parts are substantially conizlned within the plane ofthe .supporting crossr braces forming a part of the chassis assembly, wherebyless. space is occupied by these partst thus rendering practical to. increaseY the ladingV capacity lsi the trailer body. v g

Other novel features of construction. and arrangement of. parts hereinafter more clearly appear by reference tothe accompanying drawings. forming a partI of this specication 'and wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding Vpai-ts throughout the several views, inwhich-,--vn Fig. Lis ay side elevation of one ofthe suspension-unitswhenin unloaded position.

Fig., 2 is aside elevation oi-the same unit loaded. l i f Fig. 3 is: a plan View of a trailer frameV and spring mounting therefor. .l

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional.' View through a spring showing the rear shackle; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View through application. It willrbe noted that the transverse 55 spring supporti-ng suspendedcross braces'Z are of relatively substantialY depth and as hereinafter pointed. out this depth is suiiicient to provide' theY essential strength in the structure.v and at the same time form a confining area between which the spring mounting is positioned while in loaded condition. Welded or otherwise secured to the crossbraces 2 are they supporting ang-les to which. the spring4 elements andradi-us rod are connected. The rear supporting member includes vthe upright. wall- 5 abutting, against the front face of the. rear crossbracev 2 andthe horizontal rearwardly projecting plate which abuts against and is secured to the bottom tace ofthe same. cross member 2. The shackle supporting, ears 8 are arranged in spaced parallel vertical relation and comprise integral parts of the supporting angle, extending forwardly of. the vertical wall 5 and downwardly of the horizontal extension. 6. The reinforcing ribs 'l extend horizontally oftheouter faces of said ears for# wardly from. the. upright.Y member 5 at a point adjacentv itsI lower edge. The ears 8- are socketed and.v drilled at opposed points to; receive. the

y shackle pin 9, which latter are prouidedwith lubricating fixtures i0. The shackle H which is hinged on the shackle. pin 9 includes the spaced arms H' that extend4 upwardly with theirouter faces'in substantialalignm-ent. with the inner faces of the spaced ears 8, and the shackle arm extremities are formed, with the expansible ci-rcular sockets I2 enclosing the. circular bearings i4 on the ends of the shackle or upper shackle.V bolt l5. This shackleI bolt l5 is connected Vwith theerear portion of theupper leaf t5 of the lowerspring assembly Hl` in the usual manner by providing an eye at the. extremity-of the leaf e I 6. whichencircles the4 shackle bolt.

The forward supporting angle is in, partidentical with. the rear supporting angle in that it includes the vertical wall lasecured to the inner vertical face of the forward cross brace 2 and the horizontal forwardly extending plate i9 which abuts against. and is secured to the bottom face of thev lower horizontal portion of the same cross. member; The spaced ears 2U correspond to the4 ears' of the rear supporting angle and in the identical manner the bottom shackle pin 2| is mounted between the same. The shackle arms 22 swingingly support the upper' shackle pin 23 and the associated parts, suspending the spring il by means of the upper leafY I 6 through the coiled end of which the pin 23 and its bearing extend. In addition tothe foregoing the forward angle support .embodies the spaced depending ears 24 in which the pin and bushing 25 are mounted for rotary movement to accommodate the movement of the radius rod 26 which projects through and is suspended in the stirrup 21 supported on the shackle pin 25 hereinbefore mentioned. The radius rod 26 is capable of adjustment, embodying in the present instance oppositely arranged spacing washers 28 and 29 which permit longitudinal adjustment of the rod 25 by virtue of the nuts 39 and 3|. Lock nut means 32 cooperate with the nuts 30 and 3| to secure the parts in adjustment and a cotter pin 33 may be utilized to lock the xed adjustment.

The lower short leaf of spring assembly I1 is supported upon a saddle`35 which rests upon the axle 3, this saddle 35 having a concaved lower face 31 of semi-circular form for neatly engaging the upper face of the axle 3. The upper face 38 of the saddle 35 is ilat and upon this iiat surface the lower leaf of the spring l1 is mounted. Spaced projecting ears 39 extend forwardly of the saddlel 35 and are vformed with aligned openings which receive the rotatably mounted rear radius rod supporting pin 40, which as in the instance of shackles and analogous structure includes a bearing and lubricating connections, the latter preferably projecting through the earsV to facilitate the lubricating operation. The horizontal axis of the registering openings formed in the ears 39 for the reception of the radius rod, pin and bearing assembly is substantially in a horizontal plane with the horizontal axis of the axle 3 thus aligning the thrust of the radius rods substantially midway of the axle and in this manner providing maximum bracing effect and alignment during the spring loaded conditions when the radius rod is more or less in horizontal alignment as shownin Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The spring is of the dual type in that it embodies the upper leaf assembly 4| which is centered and supported on the plate 42 arranged midway of the top of the spring assembly 1. An upper plate 43 is provided for the upper spring leaf assembly 4| and the two spring groups 4| and 42 are clamped to the axle by virtue of the U-clips 44, which latter snugly engage against the side walls of the'springs and of the rear radius rod support and extend through openings in the upper plate 43 and are bolted in position as shown by virtue of threaded extremities and nuts 45. The elongated vertically extending arms of the U-clips 44 engage the vertical side walls nf the springs and radius rod support and keep the radius rod and two spring sections in vertical alignment for uniform relative movement between these parts.

The upper spring is of the free type i. e., the extremities are not connected by shackles or other fixed or movable means to the coacting spring supported body but contact the stop members 46 and 41 during loading as well as during vibration between the chassis frame and axle. The stop members 46 and 41 which cooperate with the free extremities of the spring 4| are provided with arcuate outwardly projecting wall portions 48 and 49, the contours of which are formed from a line perpendicular to a line tangent to the spring curve in its unloaded position, thus providing maximum free cooperation between the parts and reducing friction at the points of engagement.

It will be observed that the assembly heretolfore described in detail is in the iirst instance,

when in loaded condition as shown in Fig. 2, of such a character that the two sets of leaf springs are substantially confined within the horizontal plane of the cross brace 2 and that when in this same loaded position the radius rod is in substantially horizontal plane with its longitudinal axis intersecting the horizontal axis of the axle to which its rear end is attached. v This insures maximum bracing effect and alignment, and a reduced amount of occupied area both in loaded and unloaded conditions whereby the loaded capacity of the supported body can be increased with a minimum of height. The latter feature is brought about mainly by the arrangement of the shackles with their upper freely swinging portions each connected with the springs and extending vertically and above the supporting angles. It will be noted that the forward stop member 41 is positioned above the lower horizontal plane of the rear spring stop 46 to permit a proper relative range of movement at the forward end. It will'also be noted that these stop members 46 and 41 are secured to the lower portions of the outer face of the longitudinal chassis frame elements and that by this arrangement the vertical movement of the springs independent of interference by the body or its supporting frame is of maximum limit and thus springs of substantially any reasonable design or size may be utilized without loss of capacity due to relative height of cooperative parts.

Further the relationship between the radius rod and the particular spring suspension ls of importance, it being noted from Fig, 5 that the radius rod is positioned beneath and centrally of the spring assembly I1, so that the longitudinal axis of the radius rod 26 is in a vertical plane extending through the longitudinal center of the spring. This adds materially to the compact nature of the development and inherently increases the alignment of the vehicle parts under all conditions. Maintaining the radius rod and the spring in their respective alignment is brought about by Virtue of the clips 44, the arms of which engage the side walls of the saddle 35 to Which the radius rod 26 is connected and the sides of the leaf spring assemblies I1 and 4|. The structure shown and described is such as to bring about the maintenance of the rear axle alignment regardless of the amount of the load or the application of the load. Further with the center points of rotation of the connecting rod 26 located as described with respect to the center line of the axle, the desired alignment is maintained without regard to the amount of deflection in the spring assembly. In addition material stability is secured in the assembly by the particular arrangement of the shackle i. e., by having the springs suspended from the free upwardly extending arms of the hangers and the load transmitted through means of this particular spring suspension to the axles which latter are aligned'in the manner described by the use of the novel arrangement of radius rods.

We claim:

1. A spring suspension for a vehicle including longitudinal frame members and an axle, cross braces on opposite sides of the axle secured to said longitudinal frame members, spring shackle supports connected to the cross braces, shackles carried by the shackle supports having their spring suspending extremities arranged above fixed pivots, springs suspended from said shackles, said springs when fully loaded to be confined above a plane defined by the lower faces of said cross braces, a saddle mounted on said axles for centrally supporting said springs, a pivot pin carried by said saddle, said pivot pin having its longitudinal axis parallel to and in substantially the same horizontal plane as the axis of said axle, a radius rod having one extremity formed with a transverse opening for receiving said pivot pin and its opposite end supported by and swung beneath one of said spring shackle supports at a point substantially above said pivot pin whereby under loaded conditions said radius rod will move to substantially horizontal position to more positively retain the axle in alinement.

2. A spring suspension for a vehicle including longitudinal frame members and an axle, cross braces on opposite sides of the axle, spring shackle supports connected to the cross braces, a leaf spring assembly mounted upon the axle and connected to the shackle supports, and means for maintaining the axle in alignment regardless of the amount of load comprising a radius rod extending between one of the spring shackle supports and said axle, said radius rod being connected at its axle end to a pivot arranged in substantially a horizontal plane with the longitudinal axis of the axle and its opposite end so positioned that upon maximum load conditions it will be substantially horizontal.

3. A spring suspension for a Vehicle including longitudinal frame members and an axle, cross braces spaced on opposite sides of the axle and extending beyond said frame members to provide a pair of spring supporting surfaces at each side of said longitudinal frame members, supporting angles secured to the supporting surfaces, saddles mounted on the axle in alignment with and interposed between the supporting angles, leaf spring assemblies mounted on said saddles, means engaging about each side of each group of leaf spring assemblies for maintaining the same in vertical alignment with the side walls of the saddle, spring shackles carried by said supporting angles, said shackles including lower fixed pivots and shackle pin connections, said shackle pin connections securing the leaf spring assemblies to said shackles for movement above their fixed pivots, radius rods connecting the saddles with adjacent supporting angles, said radius rods having their center points of rotation adjacent the axles in a plane substantially horizontal With the plane of the axle axis and their outer extremities secured to said supporting angles beneath the lower faces of the attached cross members, whereby spring supports, said springs having such a delection that they will be confined when under maximum load conditions above a plane defined by the lower faces of said cross braces, and radius vrods arranged beneath each spring, said radius rods being interposed between and pivotally connected at their extremities to the axles and the adjacent cross member, the radius rod pivot members at the axle having their axis in substantially a common horizontal plane with the axis of the axle at all times, while the axis of the pivot member of the radius rods at the cross member are normally positioned above a horizontal plane defining the upper face of the axle but are shiftable under loaded conditions to a common plane with the axis of the pivot members adjacent the axle, whereby the said axle is more positively retained in proper alinement under loaded conditions.

5. A spring suspension for a vehicle including longitudinal frame members, shackle supports spaced on opposite sides of the axle and supported by the frame members, spring shackles connected to the shackle supports, a leaf spring assembly mounted upon the axle and connected to the spring shackles, and means for` maintaining the axle in alignment with respect to the vehicle comprising an adjustable radius rod extending between one of said spring shackle supports and said axle, said adjustable radius rod being connected at its axle end to a pivot ar-V ranged in substantially a horizontal plane with respect to the longitudinal axis of the axle and the pivot at the opposite end of said rod being so positioned that a horizontal plane passing through same also bisects the angle defined by said rod in its normal travel, so that the longitudinal alignment of the axle relative to the frame is substantially the same under full load and no load conditions.

CHARLES O. CRUMP. FRANK A. JONES. 

